Where does Nikola Jokic rank for most points scored in a playoff loss?

Nikola Jokic scored 53 points in a playoff loss against the Phoenix Suns. Scoring 50 points in a playoff game is the gold standard for NBA players and has only been accomplished 48 times in NBA history.

Even some of the most prolific scorers of all time, such as Shaquille O'Neal, James Harden and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have never managed to do it.

In Game 4 of the 2023 Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, Nikola Jokic became the 32nd player to score more than 50 points in an NBA playoff game.

Despite Jokic's heroic effort, the Nuggets did not manage to pull off the win. The Suns' dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker put up 36 points each to secure the win and even the series.

This is not a common occurence. Usually when a player scores over 50 points in a playoff game, their team wins easily. The first instance of someone putting up 50 points in a losing cause was all the way back in 1970. In Game 4 of the Eastern Division Semi-Finals, Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers scored 50, only for his team to lose by seven points to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Since then, there have been ten such instances in the NBA playoffs, with Jokic's being the most recent. So, where does Nikola Jokic rank in this unfortunate list of NBA players?

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#4. Nikola Jokic: 53 points vs Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of 2023 ECSF

The two-time MVP has been having a historic series. In the first three games, he averaged 31 points, 17.3 rebounds and 9 assists. This included a monster 30/17/17 statline in Game 3.

In Game 4, apart from scoring 53 points, Nikola Jokic also dished out 11 assists. Jokic is perhaps the unluckiest player on this list, since in most cases the 50-point-scorers team lost since his teammates did not step up. That was not the case this time.

Four of his teammates scored in double figures, with Jamal Murray playing second fiddle with 28 points. In the eleven instances in the NBA playoffs of players scoring over 50 in a losing cause, Murray's 28 points is the second highest points scored by a teammate.

Who is first, you ask? Nikola Jokic himself. In Game 4 of the Nuggets 127-129 loss to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2020 playoffs, Jamal Murray scored 50 and Jokic put up 29.

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#3. Damian Lillard: 55 points vs Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of 2021 WC 1st Round

Damian Lillard

Nikola Jokic finds himself on the opposite end of this high-scoring 2OT thriller. This remains the only 55 points, 10 assists game in the NBA playoffs. Damian Lillard put the Portland Trail Blazers on his back but his teammates let him down and failed to provide enough support.

Lillard, one of the greatest clutch players of his generation, hit clutch threes to tie it up as the clock was winding down in both the fourth quarter and first overtime. The Nuggets held off the Lillard onslaught and ultimately won 147-140 in the second overtime. Jokic led the Nuggets in scoring with 38 points, to go with 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

Lillard shot 17 of 24 from the field and an insane 12 of 17 from 3 point range, making this one of the most efficient 50 point NBA games ever.

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#2. Donovan Mitchell: 57 points vs Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of 2020 WC 1st Round

Donovan Mitchell

Yet another game involving Nikola Jokic. "The Joker" certainly seems to have a knack for being involved in some of the best individual scoring performances in the NBA playoffs. When the #3 seed Denver Nuggets took on the #6 seed Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, the series immediately got off to a flyer.

Donovan Mitchell, then in his third year in the league, went on a tear, scoring 57 points on 19 of 33 from the field. None of his teammates crossed twenty however, and the Nuggets cruised to a 10-point win on the backs of 36 points from Jamal Murray and 29 from Nikola Jokic.

This series witnessed a total of four 50-point games, two each from Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell, which remains an NBA record.

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#1. Michael Jordan: 63 points vs Boston Celtics in Game 2 of 1986 EC 1st Round

Michael Jordan at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game

Finally a game which did not involve Nikola Jokic. And who else but the G.O.A.T is at the top of this unfortunate list.

While Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls dominated the 90s, the same could not be said for the 80s. In Jordan's first few years with the Bulls, he put up historic scoring numbers but his team struggled.

In the 1985-86 season, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics were on a rampage. The Celtics led the league with 67 wins that season, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. The Bulls, on the other hand, finished with a 30-52 record, but this was good enough to make the playoffs as an 8th seed.

Everyone assumed that the Celtics will destroy the Bulls but "His Airness" had different plans. The Bulls lost Game 1 by 19 despite Jordan going off for 49 points. In Game 2, Jordan managed to top his Game 1 performance, a feat nobody was counting on happening at the time.

With the Bulls down by 2 in regulation, Jordan put up a shot which hit the rim and everyone thought the game was over. But a foul was called on the shot on Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics, which sent Jordan to the line to tie it up and send the game to overtime.

He proceeded to do exactly that, hitting two clutch free throws. In the end, the Celtics juggernaut proved too much for Jordan and the Bulls and they ended up losing 131-135 in a second overtime.

Jordan's 63 points remains the NBA record for most points in a playoff game, be it in a win or a loss. Jordan's performance earned him plaudits from across the league. Perhaps the highest praise came from Larry Bird himself, who said:

"That wasn't Michael Jordan out there. That was God disguised as Michael Jordan"

Watch the highlights of the game below and see if you agree with Bird.